***Update, late breaking news!***
Surprise I arrive in San Francisco to meet up with Jack and Guy on Tuesday morning and I get a message on my iPhone, “Surprise, Guess What? We are heading to Yosemite in the AM!, Attached are the directions and meet you at the cabin. BTW can you pick up a few items for dinner, Guy is cooking, we need some oregano, pueblano peppers and oh some wine and vodka!”. Also keep in mind Lance that there is no cell coverage, but we do have internet.
I am guessing they kept this as a surprise for me traveling out west personally with one of the few P65+ prototypes floating around so I did not let anyone know of our where-abouts and chance getting hi-jacked.
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P65+ preview with Guy and Jack from GetDPI.com
I thought that it would be great to get some real world experience with the P65+ out in the field. Me being a technical sales person/relationship builder it is not very often I get an opportunity to really have hands on with the gear that I represent (this is no reflection on my knowledge of the products). It is just that I often give up “my turn” to allow others to test and play then I listen to their feedback and sit in awe looking at their images. Now it is my turn to spend time out of the office, actually very far from the office with two well-respected photographers (and current Phase One customers).
So what better way to not only test the new P65+ out then to do it with Jack and Guy of GetDPI.com. My relationship with these two goes back over a year ago when prospect at the time (now friend/client) Jim Stone recommended that I check out their forum. I went over to the website and perused through the topics and information, and of course I was drawn directly to the Medium Format area. I have to say at the time it was sparse. I threw up a few posts, started to get the buzz out about this new forum that I felt had potential because of the people running it and their members were open to new things and helping each other out. It was truly a community that was growing. As time passed I realized that this destination was like its founders, laid back, genuine and full of knowledge.
Over the past year I have had the opportunity along with my colleagues at CI to contribute to the forum and be part of multiple workshops. Our involvement has kind of changed the way I feel people are evaluating their new investments in high-end digital products. Where else can you go on a shooting trip or workshop and have access to multiple Phase One digital backs, camera platforms, lenses and professional advice from seasoned veterans in the industry. It is one thing to hold a new camera system over a counter and get advice from someone who looks at it as a ‘box’, but another to actually use it in the field shooting a sunrise, or models and sunsets along side your current gear.
Anyway I am digressing. The purpose of this blog entry is to document the evaluation of the new P65+ camera back next to its siblings the P45+ and P25+. We have all three systems with us along with a Cambo RS1000 with full compliment of lenses. We were planning to have some other technical cameras, but we can save that evaluation for another time (plus I had to carry it all, already my pack is about 35lbs full of toys and $$$). The important thing is we will be using the highest quality digital lenses from Schneider and Mamiya.
Gear bags between all three of us contains:
- P25+
- P45+
- P65+ (prototype, had to beg borrow and steal to get this bad boy)
- (3)Phase One 645AF bodies
- 28mm D
- 35mm
- 55mm
- 80mm D
- 120mm D
- 150mm F2.8 D
- 210mm
- 300mm
- Cambo RS 1000
More to follow here on the GetDPI.com thread.
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Just a taste of the images:
(A full-frame and 100% crop. Click for larger versions. Shooting notes and discussion on GetDPI thread.)
Special thanks to Dave for allowing me to travel out here, Doug for covering the office while I am out here, and of course Steve Hendrix from Phase One for arranging the p65+ for us.